A little over a decade ago Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was hanging up his wrestling boots and preparing to take his first steps into the world of Hollywood.
A little over a decade ago Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was hanging up his wrestling boots and preparing to take his first steps into the world of Hollywood.
Already a megastar, the swaggering, charisma dripping Samoan seemed like a natural fit for the silver screen. Johnson had all the assets he needed to be the first professional wrestler to truly make it big outside of sports-entertainment.
Now ten years down the line, The Rock seems to have finally broken the mould and is now known as an actor who wrestles, rather than a wrestler who acts.
Know Your Role
After struggling through a few years with ill-advised projects such as the titular roles in The Tooth Fairy and the failure to launch franchise The Scorpion King, The Rock was named Forbes highest grossing actor of 2013, raking in a total of $1.3 billion (£798.7 million).
The Fast & Furious star saw off Robert Downey Jr. to claim the top spot, beating him by a ‘slim’ margin of $1 million (£614,427).
The Rock had a bumper year thanks to Fast & Furious 6, which scooped up a grand total of $789 million (£484.8 million) at the global box office, along with other hits such as G.I. Joe: Retaliation and co-starring with Mark Wahlberg in body-building comedy, Pain & Gain.
Johnson also seems set for another bumper year next year, with the seventh film in the Fast & Furious franchise set to hit the big screen during the summer and a starring role in Hercules.
In total The Rock’s 19 films have grossed a grand total of $3.6 billion (£2.21 billion) worldwide and he has fast becoming one of Hollywood’s biggest stars.
The People’s Action Hero
Having The Rock’s name on the marquee seems to have an uncanny ability pull franchises back from the brink.
When he joined up with Fast & Furious, Fast Five smashed through the franchise’s previous highest gross, earning $626 million (£384.6 million).
Fast Five‘s Gross was more than the first three films combined and nearly double what the forth made.
Johnson also took over from his Mummy Returns Co-star Brendan Fraser and played the starring role in Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, a film that made $81 million (£49.8 million)more than its Fraser helmed predecessor.
The same could be seen again with G.I. Joe.
Rise of Cobra made $302 million (£185.5 million)worldwide, then The Rock stepped in for Retaliation and smashed the previous box office gross.
The Rock seems to have settled down very well as a quintessential example of a Hollywood action hero.
Standing 6-foot-5, and built like an ox with a winning smile, it is no surprise that Johnson perfectly fits the mould that every action film wants from its star.
Paramount Film Group President, Adam Goodman, said: “The second you see Dwayne on screen it’s like everything you ever imagined in an action hero and then some.”
The Great One
Dwayne Johnson still embraces his past a wrestler and is still a headlining attraction back where he got his start, the WWE.
For the past two years, The Rock has been in the main event of the WWE’s biggest annual show, Wrestlemania, with the 2012 event drawing 1.3 million pay-per-view buys and scooping up $67 million (£41.2 million).
The Rock is also not the first wrestler to try and jump ship to Hollywood and make the transition.
Back in the early nineties Hulk Hogan grew tired of being a wrestling institution and decided he wanted to try and make it in the movies, but after a string of lacklustre and largely unsuccessful family comedies such as Mr Nanny and Suburban Commando, that dream ended quickly.
The Rock has transcended his roots and is now just as at home on the big screen as he is in the wrestling ring.
Studios are taking notice and The Rock’s star is shining brighter than ever, and 2013 is just the start.
With next year look like another big money spinning year for The Rock, the ten-time world champion is also rumoured to be linked with other big bucks blockbuster franchises such as The Avengers and Disney’s new Star Wars sequels.
Say what you will about his films, it cannot be denied that Dwayne Johnson carries a licence to print money.
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